The Lego Movie (2014)

If you would like to watch this movie for a family film night, be careful when you search for its very generic title —there are now about forty Lego movies when you consider theater releases, direct-to-video, short films, television series, and television specials.  And there are sequels queued up for 2018 and 2019 (big surprise!).  This iteration of the tried and true formula features a construction worker named Emmet, who, if you believe "The Prophecy" about him, is "the Special One."  He leads the charge against the nefarious Lord Business and his bad minions.  It is Emmet's task to find the "Piece of Resistance" to foil the bad guys.  The conformist Emmet also has a romantic interest in Lucy, AKA "Wyldstyle."  But in what sense is Emmet "special?"  Therein lies the children's lesson of this particular Lego movie.  As usual, there are puns aplenty to keep the adults interested.  Rotten Tomatoes has given The Lego Movie a 96% rating, with the conclusion, "Boasting beautiful animation, a charming voice cast, laugh-a-minute gags, and a surprisingly thoughtful story, The Lego Movie is colorful fun for all ages."  Critical opinions aside, the film has earned almost $500 million worldwide.